Conceptualización de sistema acuapónico aplicando herramientas del diseño concurrente

As time goes by, challenges related to food production and supply have increased, becoming a critical factor in ensuring food security worldwide. This situation has favored the practice of sustainable activities and consumption of organic products. Aquaponics has become an alternative system for food production where hydroponics (growing plants in water without soil) and aquaculture (breeding of aquatic species) are integrated. However, supply of aquaponic systems in Mexico is limited, and usually they must be imported from abroad; also, most people have implemented aquaponic systems at home improvisedly, adapting prefabricated elements faulty in operation and with an unattractive design. In this research paper a conceptual Aquaponic System (as) design was developed for a self-consumption scale, intended for men and women from 24 to 35 years old, belonging to the socioeconomic levels A / B and C+ from Huajuapan de Leon, Oaxaca. These people live in an urban arid region where there is a constant water shortage and have few agricultural areas. To develop the project, the methodology proposed by Riba and Molina (2006) with some Design Concurring tools were jointly applied to facilitate interdisciplinary work of professionals, who shared their knowledge in fluid mechanics, anthropometry, hydroponics and aquaculture. The conceptualized as will occupy an area smaller than two square meters; the main innovation of the as is that it integrates vertical and horizontal cultivation areas, an attribute that doesn’t have any of the existing aquaponic systems, and it will allow a greater use of the production area. In this system, up to 64 plants of 10 different species can be planted, combining substrate modules and containers with Nutrient Film technique. In the projected AS, fish of three different species can also be grown in an aquarium with a capacity for 300 liters of water. Thus, a system was conceptualized to represent an alternative to the scarce supply of similar systems exist in Mexico; it’s projection sought to address the deficiencies of similar products that are currently manufactured and sold.